placenamesTogher
An Tóchar
Saint Colmcille’s church marks Togher’s village centre, while surrounding parish traditions connect coastal graveyards, clay workings and Gaelic football.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- An Tóchar · Irish · main form · validated name
- Togher · English · main form
Place & story
Saint Colmcille’s church
Saint Colmcille’s at Wyanstown was built in 1866 to designs by John Murray, using stone quarried at Clogherhead. A plaque records Patrick Lord Bellew laying the first stone on 9 June that year. Its basilica layout combines a tall nave with lower side aisles, while a square bell tower rises into an octagonal spire. Cut-limestone buttresses, carved crosses and carefully detailed entrance gates complement the rubble walls. A Marian grotto in the grounds bears the date 1919. [2]
Six older parishes and former clay workings
The wider Catholic parish of Togher brought together the medieval parishes of Clonmore, Port, Dysart, Dunany, Salterstown and Drumcar. Their church ruins survive within separate graveyards, preserving older centres of worship across the district. Farming remained important, but blue-clay quarrying also supplied employment from the 1940s to the 1970s. After extraction ended, quarries at Boicetown and Simonstown became lakes supporting wildlife. This broader parish landscape extends beyond the village, linking its inland centre with communities along the Louth coast. [3]
A championship breakthrough for the parish club
Naomh Fionnbarra, the wider Togher parish’s football club, won its first Louth intermediate championship in 2001. The final against Seán McDermott’s required a replay after Stephen Devlin’s goal and Keith Woods’ late point rescued the first match. In the replay at Castlebellingham, the sides were level again near the finish before John Osborne put the Finbarrs ahead and substitute Stephen Devlin added three successive points. Captain Gerard Leonard received the Seamus Flood Cup after a campaign marked by strong late finishes. [4]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Togher. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Saint Colmcille’s Catholic Church, Wyanstown: NIAH 13901908 · National Inventory of Architectural Heritage
- About Togher Parish · Togher Parish
- Naomh Fionnbarra clinch senior status, 30 November 2001 · Gerry Robinson, Hogan Stand
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2026-08-12. How this page was prepared.